Border for pictures.



PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908.

G. F. B. PBARSALL.

BORDER FOR PICTURES. urmonlon'nnnn APR. 3, 19m.

W tint $10,! lif, Q u/wed.

THE NORRIS PETKRS cm, WASHINGTON, D. c.

GEORGE FRANK E. PEAR PATENT OFFICE.

SALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BORDER FOR PICTURES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE FRANK E. PEARSALL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of N ew York,county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Borders for Pictures, of which the following is afull, clear, and eXact specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has relation to borders for pictures, especiallyphotographs, lithographs and prints, but it is applicable in connectionwith other pictures of artistic value.

Heretofore borders for pictures have been employed in flat or otherforms and in various single tones but with no proper relation to thetones in the picture, forming only a line of demarcation between thepicture and its mat but not otherwise serving to alter the generalappearance or eifect.

The object of my invention is to produce a border for the picture whichshall be simple and easy to make and apply and which shall enhance theappearance of the picture, not only as an artistic whole but inreference to the details or features, making the latter and the whole toappear prominent by reason of abrupt but pleasing contrasts, and tostand out, as it is said.

To accomplish all of the above named objects and to secure other andfurther advantages in the matters of construction, appli cation andpurpose or effect, my invention involves the formation of the borderfrom a portion of the picture itself and of the mate rial on which thelatter is produced and the application of the border so formed in areversed position with respect to the lights and shades, as will behereinafter more fully eX- plained and then pointed out in the claims. IIn the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a front view of a picture mounted upon a mat and supplied with aborder constructed and ar ranged after the manner of my invention. Fig.2 is a front view of the picture alone, the dotted-line indicating theline along which the picture may be cut to separate the bordertherefrom. Fig. 3 is a front view of the border after it has beenseparated from the picture.

In all these figures like letters of reference wherever thev occur.indicate corresponding parts Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 3,

Patented March 24, 1908.

1907. Serial No. 366,069.

A represents any picture to be bordered and mounted. This may be of anykind as before indicated, but it should be understood that the greaterthe value of the picture as an artistic production the better will bethe effect of the improved border thereon. The details of the pictureare of no consequence in this connection. It is well understood that thegreater the contrast between the lightest light and the deepest dark,the more prominent the picture will appear.

Taking a picture of oval form, as indicated in Fig. 2, I cut therefrom acomparatively narrow border, represented at B, and I apply this aroundthe central part of the picture, but upside down with respect thereto asindicated at Fig. 1. The light and shade in the border thus cutcorrespond in position accurately with the light and shade of thepicture, and by reversing the border upon the picture the deepest darkof the border is brought into juxtaposition with the lightest light ofthe picture, and the lightest light with the deepest dark. Thus theborder is made to afford an abrupt but pleasing contrast all around thebordered picture, and the effect of this is to make the pictureprominent as a whole and in its several details.

The bordered. picture is intended to be mounted on any form of mat, asC, for the usual purposes. One of the advantages of the invention isthat any mat which will harmonize with the picture must also harmonizewith the border, which is seldom possible with the borders as heretoforeconstructed. With the improved border there is no necessity of selectingany particular color or any location of the colored parts to harmonizewith the colors of the picture, for these features are, as it were,mechanically and accurately'adjusted in reference to each particularpicture. The height of contrast between the border and the picture ismost apparent in cases in which the picture involves but two tones. Thearrangement of the masses of light and dark in a picture is now calledthe notan but sometimes the spotting; and we have pictures of which thenotan is of two tones, or of three, or even more tones. The applicationof the invention is equally beneficial in either of these cases, for, byreversing the border, which has the same notan as the picture, thehighest light and the deepest dark of the one, as also the intermediatetones, are suitably and artistically contrasted and arranged. The bordermay of course be of any desired width, but if made too wide it would ofcourse detract from the artistic appearance of the whole as a borderedpicture, the eye then seizing the notan of the border rather than thatof the picture itself.

It will be apparent from the foregoing eX- planations that the inventionis especially applicable in connection with pho to-p ortraits.

It is not necessary that the picture and its border should be of ovalform, though that form has been selected for illustration in thedrawings. They may be of circular or other symmetrical form, it beingonly necessary that the notan of the border may be reversed with respectto that of the picture.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new herein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a picture and a border therefor, the said borderhaving the same tones and notan as said picture and ap plied around thelatter with its light portion and dark portion reversed relativelythereto.

2. The combination of a picture, a border therefor, and a mat, the saidborder having the same tones and notan as said picture and appliedaround the latter with its light portion and dark portion reversedrelatively thereto, said picture and border being mounted on said mat.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix mysignature, in presence of two Witnesses.

G. FRANK E. PEARSALL.

Witnesses:

F. J. GREENE, CHARLES R. SEARLE.

